Split Zone Duo: College Football Podcast

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.splitzoneduo.com Every athletic director and search firm in college sports would love to find their own version of Indiana coach Curt Cignetti. Great idea, but easier in theory than in practice. Cignetti once said to Google him, so we did, taking a deep dive into all of the stops in a 40-year coaching career and trying to identify w...

The College Football Playoff National Championship is set. Alex and Richard react to a mixed pair of semifinal games, with Miami outlasting Ole Miss and Indiana feeding Oregon into a wood chipper. In the rare Hurry-Up recorded from a live studio (or at least living room), we discuss: * 18:37: Miami 31, Ole Miss 27 * 01:03: Indiana 56 (!), Oregon 22 Producer: Anthony Vito Become a paid subscriber W...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.splitzoneduo.com SUBSCRIBER EPISODE : Once upon a time, Ole Miss picked segregation over being good at football. Indiana picked basketball over being good at football. Miami never really chose not to be good at football, but made a series of mistakes and ran up against difficult modern realities that caused a long drought. Meanwhile...

Richard and Alex talk about the absurd FCS Championship that ended with Montana State claiming the national title over Illinois State. Then it’s time to preview the College Football Playoff semifinals in a lot of detail. * 2:30 FCS Championship * 15:42 Ole Miss vs. Miami * 33:52 Oregon vs. Indiana * 52:15 NFL playoff takes Producer: Anthony Vito. Become a paid subscriber in 2026! We are grateful f...

Richard (from the Sugar Bowl) and Alex (from the Rose Bowl) break down the College Football quarterfinal bowl games in this order: * Ole Miss 39, Georgia 34 * Indiana 38, Alabama 3 * Oregon 23, Texas Tech 0 * Miami 24, Ohio State 14 Want much more? Become a paid subscriber Subscribers get weekly bonus episodes, usually more than one during the season and postseason, as well as the chance to ask qu...

The College Football Playoff quarterfinals are here. Alex, Richard, and guest host Rodger Sherman dive into all of these games: * Miami-Ohio State at the Cotton Bowl * Oregon-Texas Tech at the Orange Bowl * Alabama-Indiana at the Rose Bowl * Ole Miss-Georgia at the Sugar Bowl * Illinois State-Montana State in the FCS title game * UW-River Falls-North Central in the Stagg Bowl Plus: Does the NFL ne...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.splitzoneduo.com Alex and Richard spend 23 minutes talking about Michigan’s holiday hiring of former Utah coach Kyle Whittingham: * In a time of intense national focus on the age of people in leadership positions (hmm, wonder where that came from), the 66-year-old Whittingham is unusually old to be taking this job. We wouldn’t worry...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.splitzoneduo.com For your holiday listening, Alex and Richard take on dozens of questions from SplitZoneDuo.com’s paid subscribers. Let’s start with the juicy but sad breakup of Notre Dame and USC, move to the coaching carousel, and then have some fun. A rough listing of the questions featured in this episode, in order: * What’s act...

These are difficult times for the college football bowl games that aren’t part of the Playoff system. Player opt-outs were already a thing, and now entire teams don’t want to take part. At best, the games are internet memes featuring some enjoyable football on the side. At worst, nobody cares. How many of these problems are truly new, and how many of them feel worse than they are because we have a...

Richard and Alex dive into the results from first round of the College Football Playoff, in the following order: Miami over Texas A&M, Alabama over Oklahoma, Ole Miss over Tulane, and James Madison vs. the idea that Group of 5 teams should have less access to the tournament. Then, a tour through FCS, Division II, Division III, and the NAIA national championship. Producer: Anthony Vito. Want much m...

In 2024, Indiana got good at football. In 2025, it got serious as a national championship contender. The Hoosiers enter the Playoff as the best team in the country, and it all comes back to a coach who can best be described as a more modern version of what Dabo Swinney used to be at Clemson. This wraps up our 2025 College Football Playoff Preview presented by Modelo. Thanks to Modelo, the Official...

Ohio State was supposed to be a little bit worse this year. That’s technically true, sort of, as the Buckeyes enter the Playoff at a mere 12-1 after a missed 27-yard field goal cost them overtime in the Big Ten Championship. Everyone was wrong about Matt Patricia, and this team could win it all again. Thanks to Modelo, the Official Beer Sponsor of the College Football Playoff. Modelo: Drink respon...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.splitzoneduo.com SUBSCRIBER EPISODE : Godfrey joins Richard and Alex for an awards show: The 2025-26 Coach Carousel Superlatives. Split Zone Duo hands out the following sought-after honors: * The Trent Dilfer Award for Bungled Hiring Process * The Deion Sanders Award for Celebrity Coach Hiring * The Ed Orgeron Award for Interim Coac...

For a while, this was a weird UGA season. The quarterback looked shaky, and the defense didn’t look good enough to drag him to a championship. All of that has shifted in the Dawgs’ favor over the past month or two. Let’s discuss the 2025 UGA team in our College Football Playoff Preview presented by Modelo. Thanks to Modelo, the Official Beer Sponsor of the College Football Playoff. Modelo: Drink r...

The College Football Playoff arrives. Alex and Richard preview the four first-round games, zeroing in on some interesting dynamics to watch and then making picks. (There’s even a Group of Five upset call in here.) Then, a tour through this week’s other bowl games and some major playoff games in FCS and Divisions II and III. Producer: Anthony Vito. This episode is free, but lots of our shows are ju...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.splitzoneduo.com Every rivalry has a story, and the one between Montana and Montana State is REALLY good. Kevin Van Valkenburg, the former Griz linebacker and ESPN writer and current Fried Egg Golf content director , joins Alex and Richard to talk about what this series means to his home state. How do Griz and Bobcat fans view each...

Texas Tech got a big sack of oil cash and spent it on football players, but there was still work to be done for the Red Raiders to dominate the Big 12. Plus, how does Joey McGuire fit into all of this? We cover Tech here in our 2025 College Football Playoff Preview presented by Modelo. Thanks to Modelo, the Official Beer Sponsor of the College Football Playoff. Modelo: Drink responsibly. Beer impo...

In this episode of our 2025 College Football Playoff Preview presented by Modelo, we focus on No. 5 Oregon. Last year’s Ducks got blown out by Ohio State for many reasons, but the biggest was that they couldn’t stop the deep pass. Has a Purdue transfer at safety solved that problem ahead of a return trip? Thanks to Modelo, the Official Beer Sponsor of the College Football Playoff. Modelo: Drink re...

The weirdest circumstance ever around a College Football Playoff team? That’s probably this year’s Ole Miss Rebels. After Lane Kiffin rolled out of town, Ole Miss still has a chance to make a real run. It’ll just have to do it in one of the most surreal states imaginable. Let’s talk about it, as part of our 2025 College Football Playoff Preview presented by Modelo. Thanks to Modelo, the Official B...

Our 2025 College Football Playoff Preview presented by Modelo rolls on with Texas A&M. This is a team that Alex thinks could win the whole tournament but Richard does not. What’s the case for the Aggies making a deep run and the case against it? Let’s debate it, and also ask the question of whether Mike Elko has ever been seen in the same room as the actor Paul Dano. Thanks to Modelo, the Official...

Oklahoma has taken on the defensive identity of its head coach, Brent Venables. Unfortunately, the offense hasn’t figured things out all season. Can that change in the College Football Playoff? And if not, how far can the defense take this team? It’s part of our College Football Playoff Preview, presented by Modelo. Thanks to Modelo, the Official Beer Sponsor of the College Football Playoff. Model...

Next up in our 2025 CFP Preview, presented by Modelo, we’ve got the Alabama Crimson Tide. It’s been a weird year, and neither of us thinks Alabama can actually win this national championship. Here’s why. Thanks to Modelo, the Official Beer Sponsor of the College Football Playoff. Modelo: Drink responsibly. Beer imported by Crown Imports, Chicago, IL This is a public episode. If you'd like to discu...

Split Zone Duo previews every team in the 2025 College Football Playoff. Next on the list: The No. 10 Miami Hurricanes. Can these guys win a national championship despite barely making the field? We both think so. Thanks to Modelo, the Official Beer Sponsor of the College Football Playoff. Modelo: Drink responsibly. Beer imported by Crown Imports, Chicago, IL This is a public episode. If you'd lik...

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.splitzoneduo.com There is a lot that we still don’t know about Michigan’s firing of Sherrone Moore. What we do know is that this is one of the most shocking coaching changes CFB has seen in years. Alex and Richard discuss what Richard’s learned from talking to people around the program, whether Warde Manuel will get to hire Michigan...

Tulane, a program that left the SEC and spent decades in the college football wilderness, has found its way back to the sport’s biggest stage for at least a moment. Let’s talk about the 2025 Green Wave, how they got here, coach Jon Sumrall, and why they’ve got a tiny but nonzero shot at a first-round upset. (Note: Tulane played Ole Miss in 2023 and 2025, not 2024 and 2025, as Alex mentions in the...